Top 10 links to get started with SEO

If you want to get into search engine optimisation/marketing (SEO / SEM) then you need to quickly accept this fact: You are going to read. A lot.

You maybe are not in charge of 10 sites, do not have a long list of clients whose websites you work on, but are simply trying a DIY approach to getting your site better ranked in the search engines. However, when you search for “How do I rank better in Google?”, you are likely overwhelmed by the amount of information; SEO companies, blog posts, articles, forums, news articles and more.

So I’ve compiled this list of articles in the hope that at least some of budding students of search will find it. This is by no means all you need; SEO is ever evolving and you need to keep up to date (there are plenty of good blogs to help with that, which is another list for another time), but this list of 10 resources that will get you off the ground.

Overview / Introduction:

• A description and history of SEO
  This wikipedia entry is great for people who need an introduction to what SEO is before they go about learning it.
• Beginner’s Guide to SEO
  A fantastic and thorough guide to all you need to get started.
• Basics of search engine optimisation
  A great, to the point, list of stuff you need to consider.

Link building:

• 10 Tips to Train a Link Developer
  An annotated list of ideas and resources for learning link building.
• Sample Link Building Campaign Letter
  A brilliant link building letter template.

Keyword research:

• Keyword Research Guide
  Wordtracker is far from the only tool you need for keyword research, but their guide is a good, if lengthy for a beginner, introduction to the topic.

Code:

• High Accessibility Is Effective SEO
  Accessibility is great practice for websites anyway, but there is also an SEO payoff.
• 3C Markup Validator
  Checking that your HTML and CSS is valid is a good idea whatever, but having better written websites can only help.

Ranking factors:

• Search Engine Ranking Factors
  A comprehensive list of what are believed to be the most important factors that are used in ranking sites.

Press releases:

• Lowdown on Press Release Optimization
  In the right circumstances Press Releases can be a big help in getting traffic to your site. This is a guide on writing them well.

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